1. Field
Embodiments relate to an air conditioner which supplies power and performs communication using two lines.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional air conditioner is an apparatus that cools, heats, or purifies air using transfer of heat generated through a refrigerant evaporation and compression cycle and then discharges the air for air conditioning in a specific space.
The conventional air conditioner includes an indoor unit installed in an independent indoor space, an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit and installed outside the space, and a remote controller connected to the indoor unit to control the operation of the indoor unit. The outdoor unit and the indoor unit are connected through two power lines and two communication lines (i.e., through a total of four lines) and the indoor unit and the remote controller are also connected through two power lines and two communication lines (i.e., through a total of four lines).
The outdoor unit and the indoor unit perform communication with each other and the indoor unit and the remote controller perform communication with each other through two communication lines according to a predefined communication protocol.
Refrigerant tubes are installed between the outdoor unit and the indoor unit to circulate refrigerant between the outdoor unit and the indoor unit according to a refrigerant cycle.
When an air conditioner is installed, a service technician connects two power lines and two communication lines between an outdoor unit and an indoor unit and then connects refrigerant tubes therebetween and also connects two power lines and two communication lines between the indoor unit and a remote controller.
Here, since the service technician should individually connect two power lines and two communication lines between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit and two power lines and two communication lines between the indoor unit and remote controller, a large number of lines are required to install the air conditioner, increasing line costs and the likelihood of incorrect line connection of power lines and communication lines, thus causing malfunction in communication circuits.
In addition, repair costs are incurred when a communication circuit malfunctions due to incorrect line connection and there is a need to add a device to prevent incorrect line connection, incurring additional costs.
Especially, in the case of a multi-type air conditioner that conditions air in a plurality of independent indoor spaces, pairs of power lines and pairs of communication lines are connected between a plurality of indoor units and remote controllers. Thus, the multi-type air conditioner uses a great number of lines and great crosstalk occurs between the lines, making communication unstable.
As the number of indoor and outdoor units of the multi-type air conditioner increases, installation and management difficulties increase since the number of communication and power lines also increases.